Former Guitarist Wishes Oasis Had “Quit After Knebworth”
June 2, 2009 by Dave Parrack
With all the in-fighting, arguments, line-up changes, and controversy surrounding Oasis, I’m personally amazed they have lasted as long as they have. Really, you would have thought something would have had to give by now, with the group falling down like stack of dominoes at the slightest touch. But no, 18 years after being formed, Oasis are still going strong.
So strong in fact that they still manage to sell out huge venues time after time. Oasis announce a tour or concert, and it sell out in a matter of minutes. The music may be generic, Liam’s drawl may now be considered more of an affectation than anything, and they may not be the biggest rock band in the world as they were considered to be a decade ago, but they’ve still got it.
However, one of the many former members of the group, Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs thinks Oasis are way past their sell-by date. The guitarist left the band in 1999, a few years after Oasis played their two Knebworth gigs, two of the biggest concerts ever held in the UK with an estimated combined audience of over 250,000.
Bonehead thinks that would have been the perfect time to bail out, while Oasis were still at the top of their game and known the world over.
Liam Gallagher Fears The End Of Oasis
May 12, 2009 by Dave Parrack
Oasis are currently on a world tour in support of their Dig Out Your Soul album, and things aren’t going too smoothly. While it may be all sweetness and light on stage, there seems to be a bust-up in progress backstage.
A week ago, the current row between the Gallagher brothers Liam and Noel seemed to reach fever pitch. Both went public with their feelings on the tour and how relations were strained. And things don’t seem to be getting any better.
The problems seemed to begin when Noel expressed a desire to record and release material as a solo artist rather than as a part of Oasis. Liam clearly isn’t too happy with this idea and recently told Canal Multishow his thoughts on the idea.
Oasis Heading For Another Big Bust-Up
May 4, 2009 by Dave Parrack
To say Oasis have had a troubled past would be akin to saying Adolf Hitler was a naughty boy - it’s an understatement of epic proportions. And it looks like another bust-up is on the way, with the Gallagher brothers seemingly at each other’s throats yet again.
Oasis as they are today are very different to what they were years ago. There has been numerous line-up changes with the only original members of the band left being Liam and Noel. The rest have either been fired, got bored and moved on, or left after getting fed up of the rows.
Bizarrely, the two brothers still in the group are the root cause of all the aggravation. Siblings often argue, but the Gallaghers have taken the art of rowing to a whole new level, and many a tour has been ruined by their bickering.
The last couple of weeks have seen the situation flare up yet again. The band are currently on tour to support Dig Out Your Soul and the whole rigmarole of gigging night after night seems to be taking its toll on Liam and Noel.
Oasis - ‘Falling Down’ Music Video Review
February 8, 2009 by Dave Parrack
I regard Oasis as more of an albums band than a singles band. They’ve had some fantastic success with singles, and I’m sure people who love Wonderwall and Champagne Supernova while hating the rest of the band’s output will disagree with me. But their albums are generally where it’s at.
Which makes reviewing a new Oasis single a tricky thing to do. Especially when the song works much better as part of the Dig Out Your Soul album than it does on its own.
Oasis’ new single, the third from Dig Out Your Soul, is Falling Down, a Noel-sung slice of indie that doesn’t quite have the power of previous releases, The Shock Of The Lightning and I’m Outta Time.
Music video and review after the cut.
Oasis Summer 2009 Tour To Be Biggest Yet
October 16, 2008 by Dave Parrack
Oasis have only just released new album, Dig Out Your Soul, but haven’t wasted any time in announcing the tour to support it, and it’s a big one. While there are currently only eight gigs on the agenda, they’re all at huge venues, including two dates in Manchester and one each at Slane Castle, Dublin, and Wembley Stadium, London.
Noel announced the new Summer 2009 tour at the new Wembley Stadium which has already played host to the likes of Muse and Foo Fighters since it reopened in 2007. Tickets for all the shows will go on sale on Friday, October 24th at 10am, and if other Oasis tours are anything to go on, they will sell out extremely quickly.
Support for the gigs will come from Kasabian and The Enemy, two bands clearly influenced by Oasis and who are likely to appeal directly to Oasis fans.
‘The Best Oasis Track To Date’ Poll Results
October 7, 2008 by Dave Parrack
To celebrate the release of Dig Out Your Soul, Oasis‘ new album, I asked the question “What is the best Oasis track to date?” 100 people responded between September 15th and October 6th, and the results made for interesting (if not a bit predictable) reading.
The winner was clearly always going to be Wonderwall, as it’s the one song that everyone knows by Oasis, even if they hate everything else the band has ever produced. Live Forever, Champagne Supernova, Don’t Look Back In Anger, and Stand By Me all deserve their places in the top 5 as well.
Those results in full:-
Wonderwall - 32
Live Forever - 22
Champagne Supernova - 14
Don’t Look Back In Anger - 12
Stand By Me - 5
Cigarettes and Alcohol - 4
Acquiesce - 4
Shock Of The Lightning - 2
Half The World Away - 2
Oasis Make Me Gag - 2
Don’t Go Away - 1
Oasis - ‘Dig Out Your Soul’ Album Review
October 4, 2008 by Dave Parrack
The new Oasis album, Dig Out Your Soul, is released on Monday October 6th, but thanks to a preview screening on Oasis’ MySpace page, I’ve been able to review the album early.
Dig Out Your Soul is a strange beast because it is clearly Oasis, with hints of Britpop and old skool in there, but there’s also a feeling of the new and the experimental in there too. It feels like an album that’s sitting in the middle of a transition, as Oasis go from sneering British Indie band to alternative rockers.
Bag It Up - 8/10
An album opener that shows the way for the rest of the album. You can hear shades of their old stuff, and a twinge of The Beatles in there too. But overall, it’s a different, more ecelectic sound than we’re used to hearing.
The Turning - 9/10
A fantastic swooping track that is subtle yet anthemic at the same time. Liam’s vocals burst out during the chrouses spectacularly. Contrary to fan reports, it doesn’t sound like Cliff Richard’s Devil Woman.
Waiting For The Rapture - 7/10
A Noel sung song. A very strong bassline that isn’t really supported by equally strong vocals. It almost pumps its way through from beginning to end without ever reaching its needed crescendo.
Oasis ‘Dig Out Your Soul’ As Good As The Beatles ‘Revolver’ - Find Out On MySpace
September 30, 2008 by Dave Parrack
The new Oasis album, Dig Out Your Soul, is as good as The Beatles classic album, Revolver, often cited as the Fab Four’s best long player.
At least that’s the opinion on Alan McGee, the former boss of Creation records who signed Oasis to his record label after seeing them play live in Glasgow in 1993.
In a Guardian newspaper article titled ‘Why the music world needs Oasis’, McGee recounts meeting the Gallagher brothers last year, a meeting that ended with typical Oasis debauchery.
Then he waxes lyrical about the new album and explains why he thinks it’s as good as What’s The Story (Morning Glory), seen by many as the highlight of the band’s career.
Noel Gallagher Going Solo? | Oasis Guitarist Wants Solo Project After ‘Dig Out Your Soul’
September 18, 2008 by Dave Parrack
Oasis are currently busy gearing up for the release of new album, Dig Out Your Soul, on October 6th. But could it be that this will be the last Oasis studio album for a while, with the members of the band going their own separate ways to work on solo projects?
In an interview with Blender magazine, Noel Gallagher answered questions put to him by readers. One of them asked: “When will you finally make a solo album?” Noel replied:
“I’d like for us to do separate projects after this record. We’d all have to agree on it, so it will probably never happen. I’ve got loads of new songs. Somewhat predictably, they’re all brilliant.”
Now apart from being as modest as ever, a solo album from Noel seems to genuinely be on the agenda, at least if the other members of Oasis agree to let him go off and do it.
Oasis Employ Buskers To Promote ‘Dig Out Your Soul’ On New York Street Corners
September 14, 2008 by Dave Parrack
Here’s a novel approach to promote your new album: employ buskers to perform some of the as-yet-unheard tracks on the streets of New York. This is the latest attempt by Oasis to try and build publicity in the States for their forthcoming new album, Dig Out Your Soul.
Oasis seem to be really concentrating on North America in the build-up to the release of Dig Out Your Soul. As well as recently touring the USA and Canada, a tour that was interrupted when a mindless yob attacked Noel Gallagher on stage, the group seem to be out to grab some headlines.
As part of the documentary film being made about the Manchester band by Brendan and Emmett Malloy, Oasis selected a group of buskers and street musicians to play some of the tracks from the album around the streets of Manhattan. These musicians then played around the city on Friday September 12th.